The Sundowners (1960)

A film with everything - Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, sheep herding, horse racing, gorgeous locations and a baby koala.  What's not to love?

Intro.

I realized the other day that I spend entirely too much time thinking about classic movies.  I came to this conclusion when I was flipping through my copy of the TCM guide to Leading Men: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era.  I got really excited that the latest film on my DVR, The Sundowners, was the last film on the entry for Robert Mitchum (each actor has 5 Essential films listed).  Then I started to plan on watching all 5 films for each actor in the book and soon realized that would be 250 films, or more like 180 if you count all the ones I've already seen.  Such is the life of a classic film fangirl!  Anyway, now that I've seen all 5 Robert Mitchum films (the others being Out of the Past, Cape Fear, Night of the Hunter and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison), I can say that The Sundowners truly qualifies as an essential.

Overview

Sundowners, in Australian terminology, are people whose home is where the sun goes down; in short, people always on the move because they have no permanent home.  Such is the way of life for the Carmodys - Paddy, the father, is a sheep drover and hates the idea of settling anywhere.  His wife Ida (Deborah Kerr) wants to settle somewhere and have a real home for their teenage son, Sean (Michael Anderson, Jr.).  The film starts out with them driving a flock of sheep to be sold and sheared.  They hire another man to help them, an older gentleman named Rupert (Peter Ustinov).  Together this family deals with the rough terrain to drive the sheep, including a horrible "crown fire" that spreads like lightning between tree tops.  Finally they manage to get the sheep to a shearing town, and despite his strong feelings against settling anywhere, Paddy agrees to stay for the season and shear sheep.  The rest of the family also get jobs and the bankroll starts to grow.  Although Ida and Sean are set on getting a farm, it takes some convincing (and some conniving) to even get him to look at one.  A few gambles later and the family gains a beautiful racehorse which they name Sundowner.  They decide to enter him in a few races, but just how much are they willing to lose?

Highlights
Okay, first of all, I love Deborah Kerr in just about every film she's made.  She has a lot of gumption but can also be very graceful and demure.  She's perfect for the role of Ida and in later interviews, she said of the 5 times she was nominated for an Academy Award, this role was the one she wanted to win for the most.  She deserved it too - she has a kind of stoic pride that gets Ida through all of the family's hardships, but she still has no problem telling Paddy exactly what she thinks.  In fact, Ida and Paddy are well suited for each other, and I think a bit part of their chemistry comes from how well Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr work together.  According to TCM, William Holden was the first choice for the role of Paddy, but when he turned it down, Robert Mitchum jumped at the chance.  He didn't even need to read the script; when he heard Deborah Kerr was in it, that was all he needed.  It's great to see actors have such a good working relationship, and both are outstanding in their roles.

In the beginning I felt that the film had an epic tone - the cinematography and directing were wide and grand.  But as the film progressed, it focused in more on the family.  Part of it was the great score by Dimitri Tiomkin and the wonderful directing by Fred Zinnemann.  But what really makes this movie a standout is the filmography - it's all done on location in Australia.  Apart from the great scenery, we also have some adorable wildlife like kangaroos, wallabies and of course, a koala with its baby.  The work with the shearers is all really well done, especially the shearing contest between Paddy and some ringer.  Also, I know there are articles out there criticizing the accents, but I think both Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum have great Aussie accents.  I think my favorite part was when Paddy gets drunk and starts singing "Wild Colonial Boy" in the local pub.  Think about that - 1) Robert Mitchum has to pretend to be drunk 2) and manage to keep his accent 3) while singing.  Now that's talent. 

What the film really comes down to is a family trying to stay together.  Paddy and Ida clearly want the best for their son and for themselves, but can't agree on what that is.  All they have is each other.  In the end, they are still Sundowners and continue onward with their futures still unsettled.  That heart - that love they have for each other - makes this movie a success.

Review and Recommendation
I really enjoyed this film.  The ending doesn't really settle anything, but I think that's in keeping with the nature of the characters.  If it had been any different, it couldn't really be called The Sundowners. Australia serves as a perfect (and breathtaking) setting for this tale of family, love and survival.  It's a gamble every step of the way for the Carmody family, and a great movie every minute.  Definitely worthy watching!


P.S. For anyone who has seen Crocodile Dundee, the line "Flat out like a lizard drinkin'" is actually used in The Sundowners too!!  I had a little bit of a fan girl moment there.     

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

Intro.

Like I said, May is definitely Mitchum month.  I actually saw Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison in a movie store awhile back and decided I had to see it, and to my pleasant surprise it popped up on my instant play suggestions for Netflix.  I had loved Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr together in the film The Grass is Greener, so I was excited to see this film, their first one together.

Overview

The premise is pretty straight-forward.  Robert Mitchum is the title character, Cpl. Allison, USMC.  He has been separated from his submarine and left in a lifeboat.  He lands on the beach of a deserted tropical island in the South Pacific and soon discovers the only inhabitant of the island is a nun, Sister Angela (Deborah Kerr).  She has missed the rescue ship back to Fiji and her companion, a Father, has recently died.  She and Mr. Allison take survey of the island, getting food and keeping watch - that is until the Japanese land.  They both hide in a cave in the hills, but the going is rough as they endure bombings and terrible food.  The two begin to care for one another as friends and Allison, who has never had family or loved ones, finds himself falling in love with Sister Angela.  When he discovers that she has not taken her final vows, he asks her to marry him.  She turns him down, and he gets drunk and begins to carry on about how unfair it is that they are stuck together but can't do anything. Sister Angela runs away, only to get lost and soaked in a downpour.  Allison finds her the next day, feverish and sick.  He has to steal blankets from the Japanese, but he gets her back to good health.  That isn't the end though, as the Americans land to take the island.  Allison gets caught in the fight and the result determines the fate of his relationship with Sister Angela.

Highlights

The shooting locations on Tobago are beautiful in this film.  The entire set up is very well done, and the coordination of the Japanese and American attacks are great. It does feel like a reworking of The African Queen, but there is enough difference to make you realize it is a different film with a different purpose.  I especially like how the film concluded - it doesn't cave to romantic notions and each character retains his/her integrity.

I think one of the hardest things actors have to do is break out of any sort of type-casting.  While Mitchum isn't stretched too far (he's usually the strong, tough guy) I was really surprised at his character's dimensionality - he's not the bitter, intelligent private eye, nor is he the super creepy and deeply sinister bad guy - he's the Joe next door, uneducated and unattached who nevertheless finds himself connected to a nun.  It reminded me of his role in River of No Return, where he is the strong, silent outdoors-man hiding a dark (and sometimes dangerous) nature. 

Finally, what really carries this film is the relationship between Sister Angela and Cpl. Allison.  They realize that they are alone in this crisis together - that they may face death together and even though each one is capable of survival alone, neither wants to leave the other.  They fight, they make up, they survive together.  At perhaps the most touching part of the film, Sister Angela offers to turn herself over to the Japanese in order for Cpl. Allison to have a much better chance of his own survival.  He flat out refuses, saying that if she were to do that, he'd go out of his mind and probably start flinging coconuts at the Japanese to get her back.  It's a great friendship that lasted off screen as well - according to one story, Mitchum had been nervous to work with Deborah Kerr at first, thinking that she might be as prudish as some of her characters.  On set one day, she started to swear at director John Huston, and Mitchum, in the water, began laughing so hard he nearly drowned.  After that, Mitchum and Kerr would remain life-long friends, making another three films together.   

Review

Although it does feel similar to many other island survival films, the relationship between a Marine and a nun makes this film stand out.  While not a classic like The African Queen, this film is just as enjoyable, and watching two such great screen icons together for the first time is unforgettable.  I'd definitely recommend watching.